The San Diego State Aztecs pounced all over the Fresno State Bulldogs in their final two conference tournament games en route to their third consecutive Mountain West Tournament trophy on a scorching Saturday afternoon at SDSU Softball Stadium.
The Aztecs’ successful Saturday meant so much for many coaches and players. Head Coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz, senior Dee Dee Hernandez and senior Bella Espinoza (“The OGs”, said Nuveman Deniz) have now finished atop the Mountain West for four straight years (2022 Mountain West Championship ring was not won in the postseason tournament as the tournament was reinstated for the 2023 season).
Sophomore standout, pitcher Cece Cellura, controlled the Mountain West Tournament and took home MVP honors.
“[Cece] is an Aztec for life,” said a proud Nuveman Deniz. “She is the competitor of competitors; she leads the way for us in that regard. She wants to be the one to get the job done, you can’t teach that.”
Her control, velocity and competitive spirit were on full display to begin Saturday’s action. Cellura sat down the first nine Bulldogs she faced, striking out two of them.
The Aztecs’ Achilles heel on Thursday stepped into the circle on Saturday, looking to do what she has done all tournament: keep opposing runs to a minimum and go the distance. Prior to Saturday, Fresno State’s Serayah Neiss went all seven innings in all three of her starts in the Mountain West Tournament.
Neiss was in control for the first two innings but ran into a Scarlet and Black wall in the home half of the third.
SDSU sophomore Jazmin Williams reached base on a walk and advanced to third via a Fresno State throwing error. The speedy Espinoza also reached base thanks to the aforementioned error. She immediately stole second base, putting an insurmountable amount of pressure on the Bulldogs’ ace.
Williams and Espinoza set the stage for sophomore slapper Julie Holcomb to make some noise. Not known for her hard contact, Holcomb shocked many and pounded a two-RBI triple over the head of Fresno State center fielder Taryn Irigoyen.
Holcomb has caught fire at the plate as of late and has also been a key offensive piece in the postseason. She spoke postgame about her recent hitting triumphs.
“I think we were due to start that rally against Neiss,” the sophomore center fielder commented. “I just wanted to [come through] for my team and do it for Cece; she pitched a great game. It was good to see our offense have our pitchers’ backs.”
The very next batter, senior catcher Cali Decker, dropped an unexpected sacrifice bunt down, scoring Holcomb from third and putting the Aztecs up 3-0.
Neiss was immediately yanked after Decker’s RBI bunt and was replaced by junior Key-annah Campbell-Pu’a, who retired the next three SDSU hitters to conclude the third inning.
Cellura continued to dominate the game as she seamlessly navigated her fourth inning of work.
Prior to the fifth, Nuveman Deniz swapped out Cellura for Hernandez. Despite the pitching change, the outcome was no different. Hernandez breezed through the top of the fifth, sitting down the Bulldogs in-order.
The top half of the sixth inning did not provide Hernandez with the same level of leisure, however. Fresno State junior Emma Martinez poked a double to right center field and advanced to third by way of a Marissa Montelongo sacrifice bunt.
Taking a page out of the Aztecs’ book, the Bulldogs created some havoc of their own on the basepaths. Junior Natalie Elias reached on a fielding error, scoring Martinez and bringing the score to 3-1 in favor of the Scarlet and Black.
After her lone earned run, Hernandez was pulled. Nuveman Deniz handed the ball back to Cellura, trusting her to do what she has done all tournament: cease the opposition’s momentum.
Cellura uncharacteristically turned a bases-empty, one-out scenario into a bases-juiced, two-out fiasco. The shutdown sophomore righted the ship and forced freshman Kiara Sipe to line out, putting an end to an action-packed top half of the sixth inning.
After SDSU went down quietly in their half of the sixth, Cellura finished the final frame with relative ease, only facing four Bulldog hitters.
The Aztecs’ 3-1 victory was Cellura’s 17th win of the season. Also, the win meant that SDSU was only one win from sealing their fate as 2025 Mountain West Tournament Champions.
In their third and final matchup against Fresno, the battery of Cellura and catcher Cali Decker propelled the Aztecs to their fourth straight conference title, with a final score of 3-1.
Cellura carried over her dominance from game one into game two. Despite the heat and fatigue, she left it all out on the circle. Cellura finished with 6 innings pitched, giving up just four hits and one run. She commanded the zone with 40 of her 59 pitches for strikes.
Decker supplied all the offense for the Scarlet and Black, going 3-for-3 with 3 RBI.
“I’m going up there and I’m just committing,” Decker said. “Ultimately, trusting my plan, the process, and the work that I’ve already put in. All bang, no brain.”
As she has done all year, Espinoza made her presence known on the basepaths. She drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first, advanced to second on a sac-bunt from Holcomb, then swiped third on a delayed steal.
Decker drove Espinoza in with an RBI double into the left-center gap, giving SDSU the early 1-0 lead.
The Aztecs loaded the bases in the second with a Quinn Waki double, an Espinoza single, and a Holcomb walk, bringing Decker to the plate. Decker wasted no time, ripping the first pitch she saw down the right field line, plating two runs.
“She’s (Decker) been solid for us during her three-year career here,” Nuveman Deniz said. “She’s had some amazing postseason moments, and she had some again this weekend, and I expect more next weekend. She is a rock behind the plate, a lot of confidence in her defensively and offensively.”
Fresno State threatened in the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases against Dee Dee Hernandez. Hernandez kept her composure, snaring a ground ball and flipping to first to get the final out of the fifth unscathed.
Cellura came back into the game in the sixth, and Fresno would break the shutout bid with a Lauren Almeida RBI single. That would be all Fresno could muster against Cellura. She would go on to finish the game, getting Natalie Elias to ground out for the final out.
Once the ball hit the back of Shannon Cunningham’s mitt, the celebration began. Gloves and hands were thrown into the air as the home crowd and the Aztecs celebrated. The Scarlet and Black had completed the improbable, winning four straight games with their backs against the wall to become the 2025 Mountain West Tournament Champions.
“Proud is a weak word,” said Nuveman Deniz with a smile. “The way we competed literally from the last pitch of Thursday to the last pitch of today, that stretch was unbelievable.”
Nuveman Deniz, along with her staff, has brought San Diego State softball back to its former glory.
“It comes down to our coaching staff and the love, time, and care that we put into the culture of our program,” Nuveman Deniz said. “Obviously our recruiting is huge, getting great athletes to come in, plug and play, whether it be a freshman or a transfer. All those things contribute to our success.”
It took every single one of the players the coaching staff brought in to win the tournament. Espinoza’s ability to set the table and wreak havoc on the basepaths constantly put pressure on the opposing team. Angie Yellen, Decker, Cunningham, and Holcomb together hit .527 and drove in 11 of the 17 runs scored during the weekend. Cellura, Hernandez, and Grace Uribe collectively pitched a dominant 1.20 ERA.
SDSU will play in the Los Angeles region of the NCAA tournament. In the previous season, they were knocked out with losses to Virginia Tech and Grand Canyon. However, with the way the Scarlet and Black played the last two days, Nuveman Deniz has all the confidence in her group.
“This is the kind of momentum we want heading into the postseason,” Nuveman Deniz said. “I like where we’re at. When you are getting good pitching and good defense, anything can happen.”
